Soon, the solidified soul power took shape like a miniature black hole, drawing in the surrounding heaven and earth energy.
The influx became so immense that above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, a massive cloud of elemental energy formed—not visible to the naked eye, but easily detected by spiritual sense.
As time passed, Chu Chengzhou's sharp eyes noticed something unusual. Along with the torrents of absorbed energy, faint black lines began appearing around the rapidly spinning solidified power.
"Is that… a spatial crack?"
He instantly sensed the extraordinariness of these lines.
The whirling mass of power, while devouring energy, also absorbed the force of space leaking from these fissures.
Though puzzled by the anomaly, Chu Chengzhou did not dwell on it. He continued stabilizing the construct with spiritual power.
Gradually, the cracks multiplied, their intensity rising. Faint ripples of spatial energy branded themselves into his consciousness.
Sadly, the imprint was too weak. With no foundation in spatial arts, he could not form clear insights. Worse, absorbing such violent power consumed even more of his spiritual strength.
Fortunately, Chu Chengzhou specialized in spiritual power. With mastery of soul control far beyond his peers, he managed to maintain stability.
Time slipped away. Just as his internal reserves neared exhaustion, he sensed the core reach its limit of energy and rotation. Space itself warped around it.
"Next… is it going to explode? No—collapse?"
With a thought, the mass trembled.
In that instant, it stopped spinning. From furious motion to utter stillness, the shift was so abrupt it felt unnatural.
Before he could ponder, space collapsed inward. Reality seemed to cave around him, threatening to tear him apart.
Of course, it was only an illusion—the final stage of soul core formation linked his mind to the collapsing construct.
A blink later, his awareness returned. Floating before him, the solidified mass had imploded, becoming a blue vortex like a miniature black hole.
Just looking at it made him feel his very soul might be sucked inside.
Within the azure swirl, there was nothing—no energy, no substance—only void. Yet he sensed a faint bridge connecting it to himself.
Ripples of gold shimmered at its edge.
Then the vortex contracted, transforming into an egg-sized blue polyhedral crystal. The golden ripples merged into it, and brilliance bloomed—blue and gold fused into a resplendent soul core.
"So this is… my soul core?"
Staring at the crystalline jewel brimming with power, Chu Chengzhou nodded with satisfaction.
Now stable, it no longer drained him, but instead calmly absorbed ambient energy.
Still, for it to become his true first soul core, he had to fuse it into his body.
With steady will, he guided it along the invisible thread into his lower dantian.
He scoffed at mystique—this was simply an extra energy reservoir, improving quality, speeding recovery, and easing bottlenecks. If one day it proved unsuitable, he could discard it and condense another.
The instant it merged, a heavy pressure spread through his body.
It was familiar—like absorbing a high-age soul ring. Without sufficient physique, forcing a core would mean death by implosion.
But his body was stronger than most Contras. Compared to that, a six-ring-level soul core was trivial.
Soon, the core stabilized within his dantian, rotating clockwise.
At once, his drained reserves began swiftly refilling. Even without his Nine Breaths Meditation, he would be full in under an hour.
Moreover, his soul power—already denser than his peers—grew more refined with every turn of the core. The change was subtle now, but over time would be profound.
Why bother with laborious compression methods? A soul core worked tirelessly, twenty-four hours a day.
Though higher quality meant slower rank advancement due to greater accumulation needs, the core also accelerated cultivation by constantly drawing energy. Gains and losses balanced—perhaps even tilted to his advantage.
The only downside? His stealth as an assassin suffered.
In spiritual sense, a small vortex swirled in his abdomen, constantly pulling in external energy. Not visible to eyes, but detectable by sensitive perception.
With a thought, he used spiritual power to cut off the link. Instantly, the vortex vanished.
Chu Chengzhou smirked. "Old Six is back."
Yet he noticed something else.
Even cut off, his reserves still recovered automatically.
Careful probing revealed the core drew power from somewhere else—an unknown source. Though weaker, it worked.
"Spatial power?"
He recalled the cracks earlier, and the space energy absorbed. Could it be the core now drew energy through space itself?
Whether true or not didn't matter. What mattered was he could still hide his presence when necessary.
"How does it feel?"
Dugu Bo finally spoke.
"Excellent. Powerful." Chu Chengzhou rose with a smile.
For future soul masters, soul cores would be indispensable. Without one, defeat was certain—even against peers.
Like how the 98th-rank Golden Crocodile might well lose to a 97th-rank Super Douluo with two soul cores.
Dugu Bo said nothing, but his gaze burned. He had seen the whole process, understood the potential.
Compared to limited soul bones, a soul core was far better for storing his deadly venom.
"…I'm male, I like women, not men."
Meeting Dugu Bo's fiery stare, Chu Chengzhou cracked a joke.
Dugu Bo: "…"
He was no fool. With years of control and a poison pill not unlike a crude core, his mastery sufficed.
After only three days, under Chu Chengzhou's guidance, he condensed a poison-attribute soul core in his dantian.
At once, his bottleneck loosened, his rank surged to 93.
Titled Douluo advanced slowly not because they cultivated slowly, but because each level past ninety was a wall. The core shattered that barrier.
The cost? Several craters blasted into the hills around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where failed cores had detonated.
"Chu boy, thank you!"
Joy shone on Dugu Bo's face.
"No need, senior. But… could you agree to a small request?"
Chu Chengzhou waved it off casually, then asked.
"A request? Speak!"
"You've felt the effects of the soul core for yourself, Senior. Until Sister Yanyan has the ability to attempt it, I must ask you not to spread this secret method."
Chu Chengzhou wasn't afraid of other factions learning it—but the Spirit Hall absolutely could not.
The Hall was already the overlord of the soul master world, filled with top experts. If they obtained the method, countless peak Contras stuck at rank 89 would condense soul cores and break through. Already-ascended Titled Douluo would only grow stronger.
Take Golden Crocodile, the second consecrated. His soul power had been stuck at rank 98 for many years. If he gained a soul core, Chu Chengzhou had no doubt he could step into rank 99 as an Ultimate Douluo.
The Hall's strength would balloon. Its ambitions too. They might not even wait for Qian Renxue, the "hope of the village," but establish a Spirit Empire ahead of time and launch a unification war. In that case, the wave he meant to ride would drown him instead.
Thus, this method had to remain secret.
He could share it with strong allies—but not with those too weak.
He had his Virtual Illusion Realm to rewrite minds temporarily, but on the continent there were plenty of spiritualists adept at hypnosis and interrogation. While such means would fail on a Titled Douluo like Dugu Bo, they could easily work on someone like Dugu Yan.
And she, unlike her grandfather, wasn't yet qualified to condense a soul core. By the time she was, Chu Chengzhou would already stand invincible—perhaps even a god. Then it wouldn't matter if the entire continent knew.
"No problem," Dugu Bo agreed without hesitation.
His circle was small. Beyond his granddaughter Dugu Yan, only Prince Xue Xing and Chu Chengzhou could be called friends. Neither Xue Xing nor Yan were high-level soul masters. Even if they learned the method, they couldn't use it.
Truth be told, even without being told, he wouldn't have taught Yan so soon.
"By the way, Senior—there's something I should apologize for."
Chu Chengzhou's tone turned sincere.
"Oh?" Dugu Bo's brows rose.
"Ahem… it's like this…"
Chu Chengzhou briefly explained the true value of the immortal herbs—though he downplayed it, lest Dugu Bo feel too much pain.
"Hah! That's all? A few herbs are nothing compared to my and Yan's lives," Dugu Bo waved it off.
He wasn't a fool. If he were, he'd never have reached Titled Douluo alone. He knew rare herbs were priceless, able to raise cultivation. But Chu Chengzhou's meteoric growth wasn't just from herbs—he was a monster in his own right.
Besides, their deal back then had been a fair trade. The herbs were eaten already. Regret was useless.
"Heh, I saved two for you and Sister Yan. Take them. The earlier they're eaten, the better."
Seeing Dugu Bo's magnanimity, Chu Chengzhou felt embarrassed.
"What? Why didn't you say so sooner?"
Dugu Bo glared.
Chu Chengzhou turned his head awkwardly.
"Oh, I get it. Before, you feared I'd go back on our deal. Now your wings have hardened, you think you can beat me, so you're not afraid anymore, eh?"
Dugu Bo's realization quickly turned to outrage. "I, Dugu Bo, am that kind of person?"
"No, no, absolutely not!" Chu Chengzhou frantically waved his hands.
"Bullshit! Think you're tough now? Fine! Let's test that strength of yours today!"
Dugu Bo cursed.
Chu Chengzhou: "…"
In the end, the "spar" never happened. As the junior, he refused firmly.
Win, and he'd humiliate a senior. Lose, and he'd suffer for it. Either way, there was no point.
On his suggestion, Dugu Bo refrained from eating the Strange Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum for now, only taking the bamboo shoots of the Black Jade God Bamboo.
For a Titled Douluo, even a matured immortal herb held limited energy. Freshly advanced to rank 93, not facing a bottleneck, it was better to save it. If he refined it at a bottleneck—say, at peak rank 93—he could surge straight to rank 95.
At his age, one or two years made little difference.
——
Heaven Dou City, Chu Mansion.
"Eh? Brother, what's going on with your stomach?"
Xiao Wu pointed curiously. Her spiritual sense was sharp—she felt heaven and earth energy constantly streaming into Chu Chengzhou's body.
"Oh, that? I condensed a soul core."
"A soul core? What's that?" Ning Rongrong blinked.
"A new secret method?" Zhu Zhuqing asked, eyes keen.
"The soul core is…"
Chu Chengzhou patiently explained.
"This is amazing! I want one! My soul power is never enough!" Ning Rongrong exclaimed.
Truthfully, she often ran dry supporting too many allies of higher level. A core meant greater endurance.
"No. Rongrong, your level is too low."
Chu Chengzhou shook his head.
He knew the difficulty. His own success came from unmatched spiritual strength and control. Ning Rongrong had neither—and at only five rings, she wasn't qualified.
For his three girls, he judged the threshold to be at least rank 69 Soul Emperor, better yet Soul Sage.
"Aaah…" Rongrong pouted.
"Brother, what about me?" Xiao Wu asked.
"Wait until you reach seven rings."
Chu Chengzhou clicked his tongue.
"You're only six rings yourself! Why do I need seven?" Xiao Wu demanded, hands on hips.
"Yeah! Big scumbag, you're looking down on us women!" Rongrong chimed in, Zhu Zhuqing quietly joining them.
"Don't fuss. I'm thinking of your safety. Condensing a core is dangerous. Even Poison Douluo needed several tries."
He stressed the danger, then swept Xiao Wu into his arms, squeezing her rear playfully.
Three sisters united? He'd break them one by one.
After some "teasing," they all quieted down. Well—Zhu Zhuqing was always quiet. The troublemakers were the bunny and the little witch.
"Oh right, scumbag—if you taught Poison Douluo, can you also teach Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone?" Rongrong asked sweetly.
She knew both had been stuck at bottlenecks for years. With cores, they could break through.
"Rongrong… what did you just call me?"
"…Scum—no, Brother Chu~"
"Good. Write to your father. Don't mention soul cores. Just say he's invited to visit."
Chu Chengzhou nodded, satisfied.
"Got it~!"
T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on most of my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle